Conflict and Compromise : The Strategy, Politics and Diplomacy of the French Blockade, 1914–1918

The historical literature on the first world war has devoted relatively little attention to the Allied blockade of the Central Powers. The few published studies have concentrated either on the blockade's naval aspects or exclusively on the British contribution. Little effort has been made heretofore to distinguish the French role. This study focuses on the French contribution to the diplomatic, as contrasted with the maritime, blockade of the Central Powers. It discusses primarily French relations with the so-called European border neutral states : principally Switzerland, but also the Netherlands and the three Scandinavian countries. Only in the diplomatic aspects of the Allied blockade program did the French play a distinctive role. Their token contribution to maritime blockade activity remained subordinate to the British. An examination of Franco-neutral rela­ tions involves not only a study of those diplomatic contacts per se but also a comparison of French and British tactics as a reflection of differing economic warfare concepts. This study also investigates the development of a French blockade organization to meet the demands of this new weapon, the diplomatic blockade. Front Matter....Pages i-vii Introduction....Pages 1-3 Prologue: The British-Dominated Maritime Blockade....Pages 4-14 Outward Unity and Inner Tension : The Formation of an Economic Warfare Strategy....Pages 15-38 Domestic Dissension and Opposition: The Blockade as an Example of Wartime Bureaucratization....Pages 39-56 Belligerent-Neutral Diplomatic Relations: Consignment and Rationing as the Dual Focus of Northern Blockade Diplomacy....Pages 57-77 Interallied Tension: French Disapprobation of the British-Controlled Northern Blockade....Pages 78-94 The Swiss Blockade System: Interaction of Diplomacy, Strategy, and Domestic Priorities....Pages 95-118 Policy of Increased Pressure Toward Switzerland: Blockade Diplomacy Hampered by Allied Disagreement....Pages 119-134 Preclusive Purchases: A Case Study in Domestic Frustration of Blockade Objectives....Pages 135-155 Toward an Integral Blockade: French Blockade Stalemate Resolved by American Adherence to French Economic Objectives....Pages 156-178 Epilogue: American Dominance as the Catalyst of Blockade Uniformity and Neutral Concessions....Pages 179-189 Conclusion....Pages 190-196 Back Matter....Pages 197-216